The Aware Life

One of the things I talk about in my latest book Empty Promises is this idea of living the “Aware Life.” I wrote…

In an effort to find out why I felt so empty, I started to pay more attention to what was going on internally. Paying attention or examining my life forces me to face the internal questions I can no longer keep quiet. I was compelled to come face-to-face with what was lurking at the deepest level of my soul.

These were questions I could no longer ignore:
• Why do I continue to say yes to others, even though I’m overextended and hurting those closest to me?
• Why do I continue to struggle with showing my wife love on a more consistent basis, the way I should?

• Why are my emotions affected more by how many people show up at church than by just being in the presence of our caring God?
• Why do I continue to strive to find my identity in things like acceptance, power, and money instead of in who God says I am?

Each and every question that came to my mind revealed another level of self-deception in my life. It revealed another empty promise I was chasing after.

As I’ve been spending more and more time alone with God, trying to get to the bottom of the empty promises I’ve bought into, I’ve started praying, “God, help me to know me. Help me tear down the scaffolding of power, praise, perfectionism, and performance that I use to prop myself up. Strengthen me so I can bear to be naked and vulnerable in your presence, willing to see the areas of my life where Christlikeness is so lacking.”

“Willing to see”—that’s crucial. Because most of us are experts at hiding from what we don’t want to know about our own lives.

When my middle son, Gage, was just a toddler, he loved to playhide-and-seek. He especially loved the hiding part, so typically I would have to be “it.” After sticking my face in my hands and counting to twenty, I would search the house for him, announcing out loud each step I took and each place I looked. Whenever I found him hiding behind the couch or underneath the table, he would quickly close his eyes as tightly as he could, convinced that if he couldn’t see me, I wouldn’t be able to see him.

Often we play a similar game with God. In our adult version of hide-and-seek, we hide behind all kinds of noise and distractions.We get up in the morning and turn on the TV, hoping it will distract us from having to think. We’ll get in the car and immediately turn on the radio or jump on the phone. Our days will be full of surface level, meaningless conversations about the weather, politics, or the latest celebrity gossip.

We actually fool ourselves into thinking that if we don’t acknowledge the areas of our lives where we’ve bought into empty promises, maybe God won’t notice them either. We all desperately need to open our eyes. We’re not fooling anyone.

And while self-awareness can be painful, it can also be the beginning of transformation.

I continue to pray this book will serve as sort of an invitation for you to look deeper into your own life. I pray it will serve as an invitation to start really paying attention to your life. It’s an opportunity to wake up and look deep into our soul to uncover the layers upon layers of self-deception and the truth that lies beneath them.

Sound like a journey you might need to take? You can pick up your copy today RIGHT HERE

The familiar story of the woman who got healed because she found Jesus in a crowd, then touched His robe, comes to mind. He obviously didn’t see her touch His clothes, but He immediately felt it. I am convinced this is because He was always aware. He never fantasized or day dreamed. He was in the moment, all the time in touch with what was going on right where He was.

It seems that one of the downsides of a media influenced engaged household is that too often we’re not protecting heads and hearts, particularly our own. Whether its real time media or in person influence, simply awareness of what we are choosing to engage in our own mind’s “rules” of what is accepted, believed, is simply not serving most of us. Our household has been focusing on the inner “rules” in our minds that perhaps we are deceiving ourselves with as we pursue obedience God’s version. One of the whisperings the last few weeks is that God lavishly loves us, He continues to show us in so many ways just how near He seeks us to be with Him.
Thank you for writing, for leading…and for allowing us to journey with you.
Sweetie

Pete, yesterday afternoon I ended up being the person in charge of getting my five year old grandson to his little league game. His parents were working and my wife was at worship team rehearsal.

I was the only one who could get him there. I didn’t know at the time that God had set all this up so Reece could be His instrument in my life.

As we were driving to the game we saw a man that I had met standing on the side of the road near where he lived. He hasn’t lived in the area long and he was just out walking his dog. Reece threw up his hand and gave him a big wave. At first I didn’t know who I was waving at as I waved instinctively due to seeing Reece do so.

Reece began to ask me questions about the man, if I knew him, where he lived etc… But then he hit me with,

“Pop, does he go to church anywhere?” BAM!!!

I had no idea. I had talked to the man numerous times but had never bothered to “care” about him. I had gone through the motions and not really given him one second thought. I was convicted, not just about this man but about how I was living my life.

Now I am being forced to rethink some things. I am truly thankful for my grandson and for a God who chose to use him to wake me up.

Finishing up a Bible study and today’s lesson talks about trying to fool God like we have the ability to fool everyone else. It also made the point of that has stuck with me. Where do you want to be found when Jesus returns? That statement has focused me to live more aware than ever. Can’t wait for the opportunity to sit down and read Empty Promises cover to cover! Been checking out the Sunday evening online streams!

encouraging to know you are going through testing, trials, I don’t know exactly the name but I have gone through. scripture says don’t be thoughtless, I’m holding one kid right now and the other one is close, not focused now to type more

Absolutely right, I do agree with your post. By the way I am a member of Baptist Church at Sacramento. Our church use church management software designed by Congregation Builder , It is really good software to use. It gives us Camp Management, Church Web Calendar & Event Registration.

Absolutely right, I do agree with your post. By the way I am a member of Baptist Church at Sacramento. Our church use web based church management software designed by Congregation Builder, It is really good software to use. It gives us Camp Management, Church Web Calendar & Event Registration.

I was looking for blog articles on reliance first capital but surprisingly there is very little. I am doing a research analysis on them. Anybody has worked with them? Let me know and I will compensate for your time.

Hi Pete, I was reading your message about letting go of the life I’ve wanted, and letting God have His way. I’ve been doing that in the past six months and more than anything, God is changing me instead of my situation. I’ve wanted to be a wife again for so long, and the thought of being alone began to cause me to be depressed and feel like God left me. I realize I was making being married an idol. I confessed this to God and am now praying that His will be done in everything, and I’ve released this dream to Him to do what He knows is best for me.

“The Aware Life | WithoutWax.tv by Pete Wilson” ended up being a terrific posting, cannot help but wait to look at far more of ur postings.
Time to squander numerous time online lolz.
Many thanks -Shani

“The Aware Life | WithoutWax.tv by Pete Wilson” was indeed a remarkable blog post, cannot wait
to browse a lot more of ur articles. Time to squander some time on-line lol.
Thanks for your effort ,Rayford

I blog too and I’m publishing a thing very close to this specific article, “The Aware Life | WithoutWax.
tv by Pete Wilson”. Would you care in cases where I personallyapply a number of of your
personal suggestions? Thanks a lot -Amparo

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